Ballotpedia

Texas represents a national demographic shift that will cause the United States to become a “minority-majority” country in the near future. Texas achieved that status in 2004, when racial and ethnic minority populations, both native and foreign-born, collectively outnumber non-Hispanic whites; in addition, the state

Forgette Richard, Garner Andrew, and Winkle John. “Do redistricting principles and practices affect US state legislative electoral competition? State Politics and policy quarterly, 20(9) (2009): 151 175.

I believe that many people in Texas do not care to vote because of apathy and the majority see a system that is corrupt, full of lies and

Low level of participation in Texas voting is because of voters educational and political knowledge, their level of income, location of residency, the age group of the population, and the legality of the person to the state such as documentation or criminal history. The most significant of these factors are the socioeconomic statuses, education and income. With poor distribution of congressional districts across Texas, contributes to the poor Latino turnouts for voting also. Texas is listed as one of the top five states with the lowest voter turnouts. It is known that Texas has multiple elections on the odd years, primary and

Texas remains a large state with masses of diversity in addition. Despite all the Texas greatness and large land there remains one issue that stays still not immense in, which is voting. Surprisingly, only twenty-two percent of Texans vote. Furthermore, Texas is positioned second to last with the lowest voting rate. There exist plenty of reasons Texas has such a minimal voter turnout rate. One reason mentioned in the Texas Civil Health Index “transpires Texas demographic” (Texas 20). In addition, another reason befalls that people actually believe that their vote doesn’t matter. Finally, a third reason stands that people ensue uneducated. Voting will transform our lives, if citizens just speak up everything will be just the way Texans want it. Texans need to benefit of their freedom and not let only segment of the state control our appeals and needs. It is essential to vote; that will be the only way our voice could be heard; it

There are numerous varieties of election races in Texas. The state Constitution and the political society in Texas together have made a framework of our legal system that welcomes Texans to pick applicants for a great numerous public offices in all levels of the government inside the state. The Constitution needs direct election for different state offices inside the executive branch and inside the legal system of the judicial branch, likewise with respect to various county level offices. A few legislative activities oblige changing the Constitution, that also needs special established constitutional amendment elections. Numerous metropolitan and other local offices are filled

In the article, the author uses numerous facts, as well as quotes from experts who have elaborated on the subject as well. One quote said by Paul Smith was,“Partisan gerrymandering of this kind is worse now than anytime in recent memories.” This is significant because he is talking about how much the republicans have taken advantage of gerrymandering and have used it to their best interest.

It is widely believed that the strongest state level Republican Party is found in the state of Texas. The Republican Party of Texas has control of the senate, the state house of representatives and the state’s education board . Without a doubt, Texas is the strongest Republican state in the nation. Republicans now have majorities in 107 Texas counties that contain nearly two-thirds of the state’s population. Texas own George W. Bush was the 43rd President of the United States. Things haven’t always been so great for Texas Republicans. For over one hundred years, the Republican Party was not a viable force in Texas politics. We were the second party in a one-party state. During that time, the GOP failed to win a single

Texas is currently dominated by the Republican culture with a popular belief in conservatism that has lasted for many years. Democratic and Liberal groups are also present in the Texas but play as the minorities. Although demographics through the years show that a change in the dominant party could very well be eminent, Texas remains a red state for the time being. Currently the population is estimated at 24.5 million and is dominantly Anglo with minorities including African American, and Hispanic. In the coming years though, it is estimated to change where as the Hispanic population will surpass become the new majority.

Gerrymandering is an incredibly controversial topic in American politics today and is a relevant issue to many U.S. Citizens. The first thing to understand is the difference between reapportionment and redistricting. Reapportionment occurs every ten years and describes the process by which the number of states’ representatives are re-evaluated. Additionally, redistricting, occurring the year after reapportionment, is the process by which the voting districts in each of the states are realigned. The second thing to understand is the intricate workings of how politicians of the majority party dilute the opposing party’s votes.

All members of the Texas state legislature should have one common motive. That is, to represent the citizens of their state. Champagne et. al. states that “…members…are responsible for bringing the interests and concerns of their constituencies directly into the democratic political processes” (2017, p.211). In order to effectively do so, a member of the Texas House will represent roughly 168,000 citizens while a senator may represent more than 811,000 constituents (Champagne et al., 2017,

Problems with the Texas judiciary are many – from lack of a coherent court structure to overlapping jurisdictions, the process of judicial selection, the lack of requirements to be a judge, partisan-based elections, and the resulting long ballots, straight-ticket voting or voting simply because of a familiar name. Many judges face no opposition in the elections and substantial campaign contributions earn the judges their place on the bench. There is no recusal policy to intervene in the courtroom when a judge is deciding the verdict for a contributor‟s case. Minorities and women are underrepresented. Texas has many problems with the current judicial system, but there are also unadopted solutions for each and everyone.

I do not believe Texas with its changing demographics and social climate will be on the brink of another switch in party dominance anytime soon as immigration, guns and education are major factors. The demographics of Texas deal with the rising growth of the minority population throughout the years. In my opinion, I think minorities make up roughly half of Texas’s overall population. According to utexas.edu, “[a]s the reality of demographic changes set in during the late 1990s, part of what defined many Republicans as moderates was an emphasis in both rhetoric and policy toward increasing the party's appeal to Latinos and other ethnic and racial minorities”. Although the Democratic Party is known for receiving votes from minorities, the Republican

The state of Maryland has been battling unconstitutional gerrymandering for years now. According to Washington Post writer Robert Barnes, recently the Supreme Court granted Steve Shapiro a Maryland man continuance in the lawsuit regarding the state’s congressional redistricting being unconstitutionally gerrymandered. Lower courts were proved wrong by the Supreme Court for attempting to dismiss the lawsuit. Maryland democrats adjusted district lines in favor of their political party to win over seven of the eight congressional districts. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan’s spokeswoman stated that the lawsuit shines light on the political influence taking place when redistricting occurs. The case is officially

The Week Staff, authors of the article, “How to rig elections, the legal way”, use the article to explain what gerrymandering is and how it is used in the political system. According to the article, gerrymandering is a way for political parties to manipulate district lines to their advantage. This way, a specific party can gain more electoral votes in their favor. Many politicians use this technique, and it is perfectly legal for them to do it. However, just because gerrymandering is legal it does not mean it is fair. Many people are unaware of what gerrymandering is, and they do not understand what it does to the voting system. Gerrymandering is not fair to the voters, and redrawing districts should be given to people that are not partial